CIRRUS DESIGN CORP SR22 — Clearwater, FL

What happened

At the end of a personal cross-country flight, the private pilot terminated radar services with an air route traffic control center and entered the traffic pattern to land on runway 16 at an uncontrolled airport as a line of rain showers approached the airport. An airline transport pilot (ATP) who had just landed on the runway said that the wind was from 240° to 270° about 40 knots, and he had used full aileron deflection to maintain control. After the ATP landed, the wind increased, and it began to rain. The ATP knew the accident pilot was behind him in the traffic pattern and warned him over the radio about the wind. The pilot acknowledged and continued with the approach. When the accident airplane was over the runway, an airport employee heard the airplane's engine go to full power and saw the airplane in a vertical climb before it rolled left onto its back and descended out of view. The employee drove to the accident site and found that the airplane had crashed just east of the runway. A review of weather information indicated that a downburst/microburst/gust front was moving eastward across the airport at the time of the accident. Postaccident examination of the airplane and engine revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical deficiencies that would have precluded normal operation of the airplane or engine at the time of the accident. The airplane's flaps were observed at 100% (fully extended) postaccident. The airplane likely entered an uncontrolled descent and impacted the ground before the pilot was able to raise the flaps to 50%, as required during a go-around.

An editorial "what led to it / how to avoid it" analysis for this accident is generated separately and will appear here.